Thunder, Knees, Answer
by Penguinator27
Summary: One-shot. She looked at the way one of her hands and one of Heero’s rested an inch apart in the middle of the seat, and decided against trying to make contact. It's an inopportune time, but Heero wants to talk. 1xR.


Well, hello. I want to start this off by saying that this is a distraction from schoolwork, and that I'm still working on Salka and Ordinary People—or at least being pestered by the fact that they should both be finished by now. More importantly, though, this story started off as a response to the first three prompts of the Love Reflection Summer Challenge; it is named for them, which is really convenient since I'm awful at titles. The story also responds to wing_zero_snuggles/Mistress Amethist Une's Alternative Love Confession Challenge. And, no, responding to four prompts with one story is NOT cheating. In my opinion, anyway. That's all. Enjoy. Review.

Disclaimer: Heero and Relena, of course, are not mine. Everything else in the story is, though, and everything about the desert is true.

* * *

Thunder, Knees, Answer

A climate change summit—in the desert. The possibility of harvesting water from Mars had brought Relena there, as it was a viable reason to procure more funding for an as yet unrealized Mars colonization mission.

_And_, she thought, _if any place on Earth needed more water, surely this place is a likely candidate_.

Similar thoughts for the unsavory environment bounced around her head as she shuffled down a path of coarse sand and small rocks, surrounded only by the odd squat plant and mountains that looked to have a similar terrain all the way to the top. It had been a long time since her tour of the arroyos had begun on a path just behind a university building, and she could feel the perspiration building up on her brow.

"Heero, you have your watch on—how long have we been walking?" She didn't look back as she said it, but she could hear him crunching along behind her.

"Thirty minutes."

"Oh."

"Are you feeling alright, Vice Foreign Minister?" Their guide didn't stop as she asked, only turning her head as her feet found their way around the rocks.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. I just don't think the heat agrees with me." She smiled in apology. "I've only ever lived in Europe, you see."

"I was worried about that. Keep drinking your water; I've got plenty if you run out." She tapped the large thermos hanging across her chest like a purse.

Being mostly occupied with keeping her footing, Relena hadn't had time to look much at their guide—a geologist—except when she paused to speak to her. She was a young woman though, sturdily built, but still small. Whereas Relena wore shades and tied her hair back, the geologist—Lara—work thick-rimmed glasses and constantly fought with her curly brown hair, which was only just too short to tie up.

"And how's mister doing back there?"

Relena turned to see him flick his eyes up and give her a single sharp nod. She wrinkled her forehead; it was a curt response, even for him.

"He's fine."

Without her prompting it to, her mind took her back to the night before when in the darkness of her room she thought Heero's body felt a little warmer than usual.

In their guide's wake she tried to push the pleasant memory from her thoughts. It was hard not to think of things like that when she was abroad with him. Heero had made it no secret to her that he loved it when they traveled, as it was the only time they didn't have to sneak around; as her Agent, he was expected to spend the night in her suite, albeit in a different room. At the twinge of guilt she felt when she remembered that it was her who insisted on the sneaking, she turned her attention back to the scenery.

"All right, Minister? We're here."

Relena looked up from her footing to the path before them, which dropped down into something bigger than a ditch, but smaller than a gorge.

"These are the Franklin Arroyos, friends. Named as such because they are a result of the mountains of the same name."

Relena smiled at the guide, though she didn't see it; Lara the geologist was speaking for their benefit—now about sediments and rainwater rushing down the mountainside to form the deep paths—but was turning her head to take in the brown mountains around them for herself. Relena turned around to find Heero squinting slightly in the late afternoon sun, but otherwise attentively listening to their guide.

"Now, I originally intended for the tour to go around the edges of the arroyo, as I was expecting quite a few, ah, mature guests." And so she should have; every summit attendee was sent an invitation. "But I think you'd do fine on a hike into the arroyos." Her eyes snapped past Relena to Heero behind her. "Um, if your agent thinks it's okay."

"I'm only concerned about how much further it will take us."

"It goes on for quite a while, but there's a shallow place about a quarter of a mile in where we can climb out and head back on the top trail."

Relena turned her head around to Heero, nodded, and—when he did not shake his head—said "Yes, I'd quite like that."

Even as they made small, tentative steps on the sloping path, Relena became inquisitive. "Since I'm visiting to discuss climate change, Lara, could you tell me how it has affected this area?"

"Absolutely." Relena could only see the back of the guide's head, but she perceived a pronounced bounce in her steps as she began to speak. "It's actually very interesting. See, you mostly hear of droughts caused by climate change, but this area has seen a dramatic increase in precipitation."

"Is that so?"

"It is. In fact, the city was built for a desert climate, so the streets often flood, especially the ones that are closer to the mountains." She hopped over a particularly large rock. "This one here, this is a trick rock."

They stopped beside her to look down at the whitish, bulbous thing. Relena only stared attentively, so Heero volunteered, "How is it a trick rock?"

"It's not supposed to be here." She smirked up at them. "This rock is andesite, and it's only found on the other side of the mountain, where our trail started by the university. You see all the other rocks? They're smaller—they're sediments washed down from the mountain. Someone who knew what this was brought it over here."

"What for?" Heero's tone sounded slightly annoyed, and Relena looked up at him. He wasn't staring down the guide, as she'd expected; his eyes were still boring into the trick rock.

"Uh—for their amusement, I guess."

Silence.

"Shall we continue? We don't want to be caught in a Summer Storm, do we?"

Hoping Lara's comment was just a way of brushing off Heero's awkwardness, Relena stepped forward and was about to say something nice she'd thought about the shrubbery when Heero coughed behind them.

"You know," neither Relena nor Lara looked back as he spoke, "in the colonies, it never floods."

"Of course it doesn't, Heero, there's no rain—"

"And no mountains!"

A sound of crunching gravel more severe than the one made by their feet sounded and Heero coughed again.

Relena was so surprised to find Heero on his hands and knees when she turned around that Lara moved before she did.

"Ah, are you all right—?" She squatted a few feet away from where he hadn't moved.

Relena bent over, still uneasy for some reason she couldn't yet put a name to. "Heero?"

"I'm sorry." He shook his head out and coughed again.

Relena, still bent over in front of Heero, looked to Lara. She was still squatting and observing Heero's still figure, but she looked much less concerned than Relena felt.

"Alright, spaceman. Heat got you?"

No answer.

"Don't worry, it happens all the time." She stood up and rubbed her hands together. "And take some consolation from the fact that when it comes to this desert, the bigger you are, the harder you fall. For sure."

"Do you want some of my water, Heero?" Relena felt timid all of the sudden, but wanted to be helpful all the same.

"Minister, I'm terribly sorry for this—"

"Ah, I'm sure it's not your fault—"

"I'm going up ahead to see how far it is until we can climb out—"

"But—"

"Because we really should have already passed it."

Relena cocked an eyebrow. "What are you saying?"

"Nothing. No place ever stays the same—least of all the arroyos. What was here a few days ago could have changed by now from wind or rain."

"What should I do?" It wasn't a question born of helplessness or a feeling of subordinance; it was simply a matter of knowing when it was better to follow instructions than to give orders.

"Sit him in the shade, and make sure he's drinking his water." She turned away, with a spring of urgency in her steps. "If I don't find a place to climb out of soon, we'll turn back and I'll call someone to come get us at the trail."

When she turned back to Heero, he was hesitantly wiping his hands on his jeans and blinking slowly.

"Do you want help?"

He shook his head.

She walked to the smooth, dusty wall of the arroyo and sat down against it. She made herself busy with uncapping her thermos of water until Heero had helped himself to a spot next to her.

"Are you okay?"

He shook his head slowly and coughed again.

"Water?"

"I'm not thirsty."

She chanced a look at him. He was inspecting his scraped, dusty, slightly bloody palms. His legs rested against the ground straight in front of him. The denim of his jeans was punctuated on either leg by new gaps; through them she could see his bleeding, scraped knees.

"That's a child's injury, you know." She regretted the jab right after she'd made it—it was such a minor injury that applied to most childhoods, but probably not his. "You should drink some water, Heero."

"I think I'm sick."

"She said it's the heat—"

"No, I'm pretty sure it's a cold. Or something. My throat—" he gestured at his neck and grimaced.

"You should have said something. I noticed you were warm last night." She reached over to place her palm over his forehead. "Too hot, even for being out here. You've had a fever, then."

He let his head fall against the wall behind them.

"I wish you'd said something. They make medicine for that."

"I know. I just—I don't know why I didn't think of it."

She put her hand on his thigh to steady herself while she looked more closely at his knee.

"I've been thinking…. I need to talk to you about something."

"Okay."

"It's about—"

"Right now?"

"Why not?"

"Just so you can relax now. Later, when you've taken something—"

"It's about work. Or business. I want to go back to the colonies."

She sat back against the wall. "What kind of business?"

"Quatre's asked if I want to help him with a software venture he's starting. He wants to operate it, but he wants me to handle the developments. I told him I'm interested."

"Sounds pretty tame for you, don't you think?"

He made a small grin for her.

"So when are you going?"

"I told him I'm interested, but I haven't said I'll do it. It would involve leaving the Preventers."

"I figured." At that moment, she also figured he'd do it in the end. After all, she was part of his job—more than anything else. A secretive, physical relationship didn't imply any permanence or commitment, she knew, nor did it give her any say in his doings past that. "When are you going to tell Une?"

"As of right now, I'm not."

"Deserter."

Another grin. "I thought I should talk to you about it first."

"You shouldn't have. I mean, don't think you have to ask my permission or anything."

"But I do."

She looked away in the direction Lara had left. "I know you and I are a lot of things, Heero, but I like to think of you as a friend first. I want you to do whatever it is you want to do."

He shifted his position, but she didn't look at him.

"I don't want you to think of me as a boss you have to get clearance from. Or as a burden you have to unload."

Dust and pebbles fell on their heads in a short burst, and they looked up with squinting eyes.

"Minister? How is he?" Lara stood fifteen feet above their heads, outside of the arroyo.

"He's fine. Just a fever, I think."

"Keep drinking your water, you." She pointed at Heero. "Minister, I apologize for leaving you two in here, but I got impatient and just scaled up the wall."

"It's fine. Do you think we could make it up?"

"Probably. I hope you're not offended at this, but I'm not going to let you try it. I don't want you getting injured on my watch."

Relena tilted her head. "I suppose I understand that. What's the plan, then?"

"Well, I thought I'd call someone to meet us at the path, but we're too close to the mountain to get a signal." She held up her cell. "It happens."

"Should we just start walking?"

"Yes. You two just follow the arroyo straight back to the trail. I'm going to run in this direction—" she pointed away from the mountain "—until my phone picks up a signal. I'll meet you at the trail, I promise."

"We can do that."

"Sir, I know you're ill, but could you _please_ make sure she's careful and unharmed when I come back for you?"

"That's my job."

Lara raised her hand in a manner of goodbyes, and made a sort of echosome ruckus as she sprinted away from the arroyo.

"That woman's incompetent."

"That's cruel. Harebrained or eccentric, perhaps, but not incompetent."

"She botched a _hiking tour_."

"I think she just feels a little pressure on this one."

"You do tend to inspire that in some people."

"Well, at least the sun's not out anymore." Relena dusted her hands off on her jeans as she stood up, scrutinizing the first bit of cloud that had come to block the sun. It made an immediate difference in the temperature, though it was still too hot to be called comfortable.

Their progress along the trail was slow without Lara's steady, dictating pace ahead of them. And Relena was vexed by frequent urges to look back at Heero to see that he wasn't about to keel over again.

"You should know that you're not so bad, as far as burdens go."

"Excuse me?"

"You said you didn't want to be thought of as a burden earlier."

"But you're saying I am."

"I don't want to lie to you."

"You can't expect me to have a good response right now." She wanted to focus on the words that should have provoked questions or even some bickering, but she was very keen on keeping her own jeans and knees intact.

A sudden gust of wind blew through the arroyo, smattering dust into their eyes.

"Where did that come from?"

"I think it's going to rain."

Relena looked up. There were purple and gray clouds moving quickly over their heads. "Well, doesn't this thing collect rain? We should get out."

"We'll need to climb." Heero was going into his Agent mode, reeking of focus and strategies.

"I think so. I can't tell how close or far we are from that trail."

Most of the walls made acute angles with the ground of the arroyo—not feasible to climb without equipment. Heero's eyes flicked around quickly, and he took a few steps in every direction to more closely examine the texture and angles of the walls within walking distance. Relena looked on, knowing he was doing a job; he could probably figure out how to get himself up any given wall around them, but getting her out too brought more factors to the equation.

"I suppose you could climb on my back while I scale up."

"Don't be ridiculous. I can climb."

"Sorry."

Small drops of water—though few and far between—began to peck out spaces on her bare skin. "Just choose a wall, Heero, we'll figure it out."

Heero coughed as he walked to the spot he chose. "It looks a little lower, but not much."

"It looks like there're some places we could grip with our hands and feet."

"Not you. I'm going to boost you up."

"Even if I stand on your shoulders I don't think I'm going to make it to the top."

"I'll get you on my hands and I'll push you up."

Relena scowled at him. "You don't always have to try to be impressive."

Heero held out his locked hands for her to step into.

"What am I stepping onto after that?"

"My shoulders." He nodded to the wall directly behind him. "Use that for balance."

She didn't like the way his bones felt through her shoes once she made it up to his shoulders, and the feeling of his skin slipping around under her weight made her slightly squeamish. "Am I hurting you?" She didn't look down, and kept her hands pressed against the dusty wall.

"No. You're light—this is easy."

"You're sure?"

"Yes. Now look down, and step onto my hands. Tell me when you're ready."

His hands under her feet weren't nearly as steady as the ground, but she knew she wouldn't fall. "I'm ready."

She regretted the squeal she let out when he straightened his arms out, fast.

"Can you reach the top?"

Reaching her own arms above her, she felt a new level of ground at about the height of her elbows. She managed to scramble over the edge of the arroyo after much squirming, straining, and flailing of the legs. She looked down at Heero, feeling the distance suddenly as she hadn't felt it before. "Are you going to make it?"

He nodded, lodging his fingers in some miniscule crevice. By the time he got into reach of Relena's level, he'd had to start over twice, and it was beginning to sprinkle more earnestly. It occurred to her again—when he was about arm's length from the top of the wall—that he was sick, as his eyes and expression told.

Laying flat against the ground, she hung her arms over the edge and grasped him by the wrist.

"Don't do that."

"Shut up and use my arm—"

"Don't lean over the edge like that—"

"It's taking you forever to get up here."

The sudden pull against her body surprised her, but she'd already braced herself for it. He heaved himself over the edge with only a little more grace than he'd watched Relena do it with and—with his feet still hanging over the edge—laid down against the solid dirt.

"How are you feeling?"

"Tired."

She felt his forehead again. "Still very warm. You should see a doctor."

"Maybe." He sat up so they were sitting cross-legged next to each other. "So, I know you don't want me to ask your permission, but I am."

"Huh?" _To leave_. "Oh. Didn't I say I wanted you to do what you _want_ to do?"

"Do you mean it?"

"Yes."

"Because if you said it wasn't okay I would listen to you."

"I refuse to be something that might hold you somewhere you don't want to be—for, you know, whatever reason." She looked at him; he was staring down into the arroyo. It was almost raining.

"You're my best burden." He didn't look at her. "If you were one I wanted to be rid of I just would have left." He put his hand around her wrist where it hung over her leg. "And I probably wouldn't have spent the night with you last night. Do you understand?"

"I do. I've kind of mixed us up, haven't I?"

"Yes. But I'm hoping that when I'm not your Agent anymore you'll let me take you out or something."

"I—"

A very intense rumble of thunder interrupted her, and punctuated a sudden downpour. They stood up and backed away from the edge and—having nowhere to run to for shelter in the middle of the desert—stood still and watched the process that took place in the arroyo.

After about two minutes a rush of water splayed across the trail on the other side of the arroyo from the mountain, and a steady flow like a miniature river quickly formed in the arroyo itself. The deluge was over in five minutes, but the amount of water in the arroyo would suggest that it had gone on for at least two days.

Heero coughed. "I bet we could have been swept up in that if we'd listened to that woman and kept walking." He shook his head out, unsticking the wet hair from his scalp, and inducing a fit of coughs in the process—dry, bronchial ones that Relena cringed at.

"We should walk in that direction anyway. She did say she'd come back."

The clouds dispersed very quickly, leaving them again in a sunny, hot discomfort with a new touch of humidity. The water in the arroyo also drained in little time; the bottom was muddy looking and smattered with bottles and piles of pebbles in the places where the arroyo curved.

"Look, Heero. It's the trick rock." She pointed down into the depression at the white rock Lara had pointed out earlier. "It's moved."

"How can you tell?"

"It was closer to the start of the trail before, wasn't it?"

"I don't see the trail anywhere."

"Exactly."

"I don't know. There could be a number of white rocks out here."

"Oh, you're so unenthusiastic when it comes to nature."

"Nature?"

"Yes. You said there weren't deserts or rain in the colonies, so you should enjoy it when you're on Earth."

Heero turned away from Relena to cough. "Earth's interesting in these ways, but I still only ever end up thinking of it as fickle and inconvenient."

No answer.

"Don't be angry. It's just what I'm used to. When you come to visit me on L4 you'll realize that the colonies' predictability is much more conducive to a stable lifestyle." He looked up at the sun. "And a more comfortable one."

"I'm coming to visit you, am I?"

A mechanical rumble—weak, faint—slowly began to echo off the mountain. They stopped to listen more closely.

"Is that a car out there?"

"I'll bet it's that woman, come to _rescue_ us."

"Please be civil with her."

"In all seriousness, she would have been responsible is things had gone differently."

A white, egg-shaped sub-compact car rumbled and wheezed across the dirt to them. When it stopped near them, Lara the geologist popped out of the driver's side, followed by a large man with curly black hair on the passenger side.

"Minister!"

"Lara, you came back."

"I'm so sorry. I couldn't get anyone on the phone so I just ran back to the school and got my own car. It started raining—"

"Please, it's really fine. We climbed out before the rain got too bad."

"I'm so sorry—"

"Maybe they just want a ride back to the university so they can get dried off, Lara?" It was the large man that came out of the car with her.

On the bumpy ride across the desert Heero and Relena sat in the backseat of Lara's egg-shaped car. The air-conditioning didn't work, so they drove with the windows open, and soon became covered in a very fine layer of dirt. Relena started at the movement of Lara's friend; he moved his arm to rest over her shoulders while she steered the car around shrubs and larger rocks. Possession, of sorts.

She looked at the way one of her hands and one of Heero's rested an inch apart in the middle of the seat, and decided against trying to make contact. Relena wondered how long it would be until they weren't together anymore like they were at that moment, and what it would be like to be together in other places when he wasn't her Agent anymore.

* * *

Fun Fact: The arroyos really exist in my hometown. They're quite the sight, and quite dangerous in the summer.

Interesting Tidbit: I decided to put 1 and R in the desert because I started writing this when I went home for a visit over the summer.


End file.
